I thought I read somewhere that the conversion kit will make 1e faster gameplay; does anyone know if this is true? That is the one roadblock to getting my friends to play this game.

Tromdial said:

There are many people who don't want to believe that most of the 1st edition stuff will be totally obsolete when it comes to the 2nd edition. That's why they come up with fables and hopeful writeups what they wish the conversion kit would do. The truth is that Descent 2nd edition will be a totally separate game from the 1st edition and the conversion kit allows just minimal crossover for very limited amount of things.

The one and only things the conversion kit will do is to enable you to use your existing 1st edition miniatures with the 2nd edition rules. In other words in the conversion kit there are 2nd edition rules cards for all the 1st edition heroes and monsters. Nothing more, nothing less. This is stated very clearly in the preview. You can't use tiles from 1st edition, you can't use the scenarios, you can't use any of the cards. Only the miniatures.

In order to use the conversion kit you need the 2nd edition core box to play the game. The conversion kit does nothing to the 1st edition, so if you have only 1st edition boxes and the conversion kit, it is like buying an Mansions of Madness expansion in order to play Arkham Horror. Different game, different system.

The 2nd edition preview promises streamlined gameplay and loads of natural stopping points, so if the game lenght is a problem get the 2nd edition core box. If the game is to your liking and fast enough, you can always get the conversion kit later so you don't feel so much screwed by the fact that you have all the 1st edition stuff.

I personally had the same game lenght problem with my gaming group. The minute they announced the 2nd edition I sold all my 1st edition stuff. If I later on have an absolute need those 1st edition heroes, then I will buy the conversion kit and just use some of the existing miniatures I have.

Okay, thanks for keeping the facts straight. I will most definitely buy 2nd edition when it comes out then.

Like Mord says, the conversion kit doesn't do anything for 1e. 1e is out of print (effective immediately, afaik.) It only allows you to use your figures from 1e boxes in 2e. The initial announcement of 2e does mention a couple things that address play length, but we don't really know how dramatic the difference will be until they start publishing more previews (which should hopefully be soon if the projected release date of end of January is in any way legit.)

I'm sure there will be fan-made rules to incorporate other elements of 1e into 2e in due time (hell, I may even end up writing them myself, if I can find time!) There may even be fan-made variants to incorporate game-speed patches into 1e based on 2e mechanics (I suppose that would depend on how well the two can mesh.) However , these are all hypothetical, fan-made things at the moment. FFG has not promised anything of the sort, and I doubt they'll do it themselves. Especially anything to do with 1e. I know some people are having trouble accepting that 1e is finished, especially those who just bought into it recently, but the fact of the matter is 1e is over. I still hold hope that the guys who compiled the fan FAQ get their answers, but there won't be anything else coming for 1e.

That doesn't mean you can't have fun with 1e, of course. It's not like the game components are going to curl up and rot just because FFG has stopped supporting them. It does, however, mean that if you want anything new or different for 1e, you'll have to make it yourself.

Yeah, I just collected all but Road to Legend this summer, and my friends don't play it. I hope it collects dust for ten years and becomes either a collector's item or something to play with my kids one day.

First you should buy road to legend, and then you will play it with your friends, sure. Trust me, it is another descent

gran_orco said:

That would probably depend on whether their objection to the play length is based on how long they spend in a single sitting or on how long it takes to "finish."

If it's the former, RtL and/or SoB might make things more manageable for them, but if it's the latter, turning a 5 hour game into a 2 month game probably won't help things. =P

My group has basically given up on the idea that a game of Descent will be over in less than 6-8 hours, so faster gameplay will definitely be an improvement. RTL rounds usually take a good 3-4.